What Michigan football will miss the most about Harbaugh this weekend

9th-year Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh is suspended for the first three games of the 2023 season, which is set to kick off in five days (this Saturday) for the Maize and Blue. Earlier, the media spoke with Jesse Minter, the second-year defensive play-caller, who broke down what the Wolverines will miss the most about Harbaugh’s game-day presence.

Michigan football will miss Jim Harbaugh this weekend

Despite Jim Harbaugh’s absence from the Michigan football sideline this weekend, he will continue to serve as the head coach throughout the other six days of the week. With Jesse Minter taking over as the Week 1 game day head coach (interim head coach) against East Carolina, the Wolverines are still in very good hands.

Earlier today, Minter was asked about what Michigan football is going to miss the most about Jim Harbaugh this weekend. Here is what he had to say.

“I think he’s just a presence, and I think one thing about coach Harbaugh is he just breeds confidence in our players,” Jesse Minter said of the 9th-year Michigan football coach. “He has such a strong belief in our guys. He certainly recruited all of them and has been in their homes, and I think his level of confidence in our players is something that I see every day, and I see the power that that has.”

Jesse Minter says Harbaugh impacts the players and the staff alike on game days

Jim Harbaugh doesn’t just impact the players; he impacts the coaching staff as well.

“I also think he empowers our coaches,” Jesse Minter continued, “and I think we’re set up to handle this well because of his ability to empower us as assistant coaches, whether it be our position or our side of the ball — he gives us time to speak in front of the team at different times. So I think there’s a level of respect that all the players have for everybody on the staff, and I think it’s all of us just trying to carry our weight and make sure we do our job come Saturday.”

Even though Michigan football is still expected to win (and likely cover the spread in the process), Jesse Minter and the Wolverines’ coaching staff will undoubtedly feel the absence of Jim Harbaugh on the sideline with them.

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